Return to the Digital World III: Independence
by SeaSpectre160
Summary: Frontier: The future Warrior of Wood is tired of being treated like a baby. His brilliant idea to change that might not be so bright after all, though. Mentions of TK/OC and hints of future KM/OC and IO/OC. Redo of 'Return to the Digital World 3: Under Suspicion'. Part 3/9 of Return to the Digital World.
1. Chapter 1: Keeping Secrets

**And here's the new installment of Return to the Digital World. You'll notice a lot of differences from the original version, mostly Kōji not being stuck in jail, and Lexi having gotten over her crisis of whether she wants to be a Legendary Warrior after all.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon**

**WORD COUNT: 1570**

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Keeping Secrets<span>

"Mamà, I'm going to hang out with Tomoki again!"

Juan was almost to the door when his mother called to him. "Juan, wait!" She came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her dish towel. "You're going out again? Where?"

He hesitated, then remembered which excuse he was using this time. "We're going to his friend Shinya's place. I should only be a couple hours."

"Well, I want you to text me every hour, is that understood?"

"Every hour?!"

"It's not that unreasonable, I just want to be sure that you're alright. Tomoki is a nice boy, but I don't know any of his friends. Please, just text me, it doesn't have to be anything long."

He sighed. "Yes, Mamà, I will. I'll be back soon."

"Alright, be safe, Niño."

He left the house and met up with Tomoki, who was just approaching the end of his driveway. "We'll have to make this quick," he told him, "Mamà wants me to text her every hour, and I don't think I can get a normal cell signal in the Digital World."

Tomoki frowned. "That might be trouble," he admitted, "What do you plan to do?"

"What did you guys do last time? How did you keep your parents from worrying?"

"We didn't do anything. Because of how unstable the Digital World was, time flowed differently. We spent weeks in there, never went back to our world; we couldn't. But when we got back after defeating Lucemon, only ten minutes had passed. We didn't have to deal with this double life thing."

Juan sighed. "Do you think I should tell them?"

"I don't know. I'd suggest talking it over with the others first."

Juan thought about it as they got on the train to Shibuya station. He really wanted to show his mother that he was older and stronger than she thought. Maybe if she saw that, she'd stop treating him like a little kid.

* * *

><p>"It's a bad idea," Kōji stated, scrutinising the screen of his D-Scanner for signals of a Spirit.<p>

"I don't know," Izumi mused, "Maybe it is best. I mean, if Juan's parents know what's at stake, maybe they won't interfere."

"Or maybe, if his mother's so overprotective, she'll panic and forbid Juan from getting involved."

The two of them, Kōichi, and Kyōsuke were searching for the Spirits of Darkness and the others, discussing the topic Juan had raised on the Trailmon ride there. The Legendary Warriors had split into three groups upon arrival at the forest terminal; Takuya, Shinya, and Junpei had gone north, Tomoki, Lexi, and Juan had headed west, and the twins went east with Izumi and Kyōsuke (they'd already scoured the south the day before).

"We'll never know, really," Kōichi pointed out, "Juan knows his parents best; it should be up to him."

Kyōsuke shrugged. "My parents and sister would freak. I'm not telling them anything."

"You have a sister?" Izumi asked.

"Yep, my older sister Juri. She has enough on her plate without worrying about me. She has a two-week-old daughter to take care of."

"Aww… what's her name?"

"Yōko. You should meet them."

The two continued talking about Kyōsuke's family while the twins pushed on ahead. "Speaking of secrets," Kōichi began, "We _are_ eventually going to have to tell the new kids about Duskmon. Even Shinya doesn't know; Takuya left that out when he 'told him everything', but apparently he's been asking. And you heard Tomoki and Juan talking the other day. It's only a matter of time before Lexi and Kyōsuke get curious about our past adventures."

Kōji sighed. "Yeah, I accidentally mentioned Duskmon to Lexi earlier. She asked if anyone had gotten seriously hurt, and I mentioned that second battle…" He trailed off when the memory hit Kōichi and his shoulders sagged under the guilt. "Hey, it's not your fault. How many times do we have to tell you that?"

The elder twin managed a weak smile. "It's not something you easily get over," he admitted, "Even after five years."

* * *

><p>Detective Diego Cortez had had a tiring day. He'd had to deal with a large number of small crimes from early morning until he finally got off shift near sunset. He was hoping to just lie down and relax when he got home, maybe catch a short nap before supper. When his son was waiting for him almost expectantly in the living room, though, he had a feeling that that wasn't going to happen. His wife and Juan's new friend Tomoki were waiting as well. "Are you <em>sure<em> you want to do this, dude?" Tomoki was asking, "The guys won't be all that happy, you know, and your parents might not believe you."

"Believe _what_?" Rosa sounded like she'd asked this question several times.

The boys ignored her. "I know, but I can't hide this from them," Juan replied, "It's just not what I do!"

"Okay, it's your decision, but I still don't think this is the safest idea."

"Dad!" Juan cried when he saw Diego coming into the room, "Dad, please, there's something you and Mom need to see!"

"Diego, believe me, I have no idea what he's going on about," Rosa insisted, "They won't tell me anything. Juan just up and told he had something very important to show us, and won't give me any details."

Diego returned his gaze to his young son. "Juan, I just got off work. Can't this wait?"

"No, I'm sorry, but it can't. We've got people waiting for us, so it has to be now."

* * *

><p>Junpei tapped his foot impatiently, waiting with most of the other Legendary Warriors at the Shibuya station secret basement level. Juan and Tomoki still hadn't shown up, and he wasn't the only one getting impatient. Izumi was sweet-talking the Trailmon, Mole, into staying and waiting just a little bit longer, but they all knew she couldn't keep him there forever. "What is taking them so long?" Lexi asked. She was in a frustrated mood as she'd come close to what she thought was a lead on her older sister Londyn, but actually turned out to be a dead end. She'd wound up knocking on the door of a girl who had no connection to Londyn or her band whatsoever.<p>

The _ding_ of the elevator had them all sighing with relief, until they caught sight of the two extra people accompanying Tomoki and Juan. They were a man and woman, both Hispanic with dark hair and eyes. "These are my parents," Juan explained, "I decided they should know about this stuff."

"What?" Kyōsuke cried, "Are you _crazy_?" The others also protested.

"I don't like lying to them! I can't keep this a secret, not without hating myself for it!"

Tomoki stepped forward. "For the record, I'm not a big fan of this idea, either, but it's Juan's choice."

Juan's parents were looking around the huge room in disbelief, whispering to each other in Spanish. Juan pulled his mother onto the Trailmon by the hand before anyone else could argue, so the rest had no choice but to follow.

* * *

><p>They were eventually on their way on the Trailmon. Mr. and Mrs. Cortez looked around in stunned amazement. They still kept whispering to each other in Spanish, often throwing nervous glances in the others' directions.<p>

When the bumpy part of the ride came, Junpei, who happened to be sitting right next to Mr. Cortez, had to grab the man by the arm to keep him from falling out of his seat. As he looked up to thank him, Junpei saw his eyes widen in shock. Mrs. Cortez was staring at her son with an equally surprised expression. Apparently, Juan had neglected to warn his parents that on this part of the ride, images appeared that showed the Warriors in their Humanoid Spirit forms.

"Yeah, that kinda happens every time," Takuya explained nonchalantly, "You get used to it real quick."

They arrived soon enough, and the Cortez's nearly screamed when they saw Bokomon and the other Digimon. "That's it!" Mr. Cortez put his foot down. "Juan, your mother and I are not taking another step until you tell us what is going on!"

Juan sighed. "This place is called the Digital World, and these creatures here are Digimon. There are some evil Digimon who want to take over, and... well..." Junpei cut in, feeling he could probably explain it better. "There are extremely powerful Digimon spirits that have chosen to bond with humans, and these humans are the Legendary Warriors."

"In other words," Takuya picked up, "us, and it's our job to keep the Digital World safe. Kōji, Tomoki, Izumi, Junpei, Kōichi, and I were chosen five years ago, and now there are four new members of our team: my little brother Shinya, Kyōsuke, Lexi, and..." The team leader pointed to each of his friends as he said their names, and paused to toss a significant glance at the Cortezes. "Juan. He's been chosen as one of the new Legendary Warriors."

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><p><strong>And that's it until the 26th! Next chapter, we see Rosa and Diego's reactions to Juan's choices, and a new Spirit Search begins.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Secret of the Tanemon Village

**Now, I know I promised I'd have Part IV up after finishing posting this, but it'll have to wait. I'm on like... page 8 of the first draft. I'm essentially stuck. The first chapter of 'Queen' is almost ready, and so is 'Uragirimono', but I'm having writer's block on 'Value'. I'm really sorry, and I promise I _will_ get it up eventually.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon Frontier or any of its characters**

**WORD COUNT: 2427**

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><p><span>Chapter 2: The Secret of the Tanemon Village<span>

Rosa had one arm wrapped protectively around her son as she spoke. "No. I won't let my baby get involved in this."

"But Mamà..." Juan complained, "I already _am_ involved. This is really important!"

Rosa didn't care. She'd already lost one baby. She wouldn't lose another.

* * *

><p><em>Rosa had always loved this park on the outskirts of Madrid. She'd frequently played there as a girl, gotten her first kiss there, and her wedding had taken place right across the pond from where she sat right now. And now she took the twins there every day. She let them have free reign of the area, so long as they stayed away from the pond. Neither Juan nor Isabel could swim; after all, they were only three.<em>

_"Rosa!" a friend called, "Over here!" Rosa was positive the children would be fine if she took her eyes off them for a couple seconds, so she walked over to chat. They were trying to play catch, although neither one of them could throw __**or**__ catch very well._

_Only one minute later, the wail of sirens could be heard. They were getting closer and closer. A beat-up van, swerving wildly, zoomed by on the nearby road, followed by half a dozen police cars._

_A shrill cry reached Rosa's ears. She turned to see Isabel flying through the air, having been struck by the fleeing vehicle. She hit the grassy ground with a dull 'thud'. Rosa ran over to her daughter, devastated. Isabel's small body was lifeless; she wouldn't open her eyes and her favourite pink sundress was stained with her blood. Rosa held the little girl close to her chest, sobbing. Juan was right by their side. He was crying; he was far too young to comprehend the horror of what had just happened, but he knew it was bad because Mamá was crying._

* * *

><p>She couldn't let Juan partake in this. It was far too dangerous. Her mission in life, after Isabel was killed, was to protect him until he was old enough to take care of himself – sixteen, at the least. She ensured that he didn't eat any junk, got a decent education, and never got involved in any dangerous activities – just like this.<p>

"Please, Mrs. Cortez," the leader of the reckless teenagers – Takuya, she believed his name was – begged her, "This isn't just one world at stake; the last villain that tried to take over the Digital World set his sights on our world as well. If you just let Juan stay with us, I promise we'll keep him safe, too. We always watch each other's backs. Please, we need him if this world is going to survive."

Rosa shook the boy's words off. She understood that they needed someone to use those Spirits, but it didn't have to be her baby. She wasn't about to bury another child. "No. You can find somebody else to join your team, but our boy won't fight. He can't; he's far too young."

"Not really," the tall, sandy-haired boy, Junpei, cut in, "I was the same age he is now when we first came here, and I'm the oldest! Hell, Tomoki here was eight! We weren't too young for it then, and Juan isn't too young for it now."

"Uh, anyone mind if _I_ have a say in this?" Juan suddenly snapped. Rosa was so surprised that she didn't resist when he pulled away from her. "I want to do this," he announced, "_Mamà_, I'm twelve years old. I'm not a little kid anymore, and this is _my_ responsibility. I was chosen for a reason."

Rosa shook her head. "It doesn't have to be yours," she insisted. Why didn't he see it? "My decision is final. We're leaving – now." A rumbling noise came from behind them, and she turned to see the train chugging away. "No, wait!" she called, but clearly the conductor couldn't stop.

"Mole's got a tight schedule," Takuya explained, "So it looks like we're all stuck here for the next couple of hours."

"A couple of hours?"

"Well, as long as we're here, we might as well do some Spirit searching" an older boy with long black hair and a bandana stated (Rosa couldn't really remember which twin he was, Kōji or Kōichi).

"Good idea," the blonde girl, Izumi, agreed, "How about this time we split into bigger groups, since we have non-fighters with us?" She turned to the Cortezes. "It might not be a good idea for you guys to wait here alone. Some Digimon can be a bit aggressive, and when you don't know how to deal with them…"

Diego took Rosa's hand and squeezed it. "We might as well go along with them," he whispered, "I think they know this place better than we do." Rosa nodded in agreement, even though she wanted to stay put. Besides, she wasn't going to just stay if Juan insisted on going as well; she had to protect her son.

Takuya reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange red and black hand-held device. Five others, Izumi, Tomoki, Kyōsuke, Lexi, and the twin who spoke earlier, did the same. Before Rosa could open her mouth to ask, they each pushed a button and shouted: "EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" The six of them were enveloped in glowing cocoon-things that came out of nowhere, and were replaced by otherworldly-looking beings. Takuya now stood taller than Diego; he wore black and scarlet armour, including a horned helmet; his brown eyes were now blue-green, and his now wild, straw-coloured hair hung down his back. The long-haired twin had also gained some height – all the boys did, really – and wore white and light purple armour with a wolf theme; his hair had also turned blonde, though it was much shorter, and had brown eyes. Kyōsuke's skin had turned orange-yellow, and wore purple armour with a crimson hood and scarf. Izumi stayed more or less the same size, her hair had turned purple and gotten longer, a mask completely covered her eyes, she wore a rather revealing pink outfit, and had large wings – like those of a butterfly – growing out of her back. Rosa blinked twice, just to be sure she wasn't seeing things. Lexi's skin had turned blue/green, her wavy red hair had straightened and turned dark blue, and she was wearing aquamarine armour, complete with a helmet; she looked a bit like a water sprite.

But Tomoki had changed the most. He now resembled a humanoid polar bear wearing dark green pants with leather padding. His feet (paws?) were bare, and his hands looked mostly human, except that they were covered in short, white, coarse hair and ended in wicked black claws. Green straps held what looked like a big weapon to his back, and green armoured padding covered the sides and back of his head but not the top.

"Whoa," Junpei commented, "Chackmon all grown up! I was looking forward to teasing you about still having that cute little teddy bear form!" Tomoki growled at him, but not in a menacing way.

"Looking good, buddy! But yeah, this is just in case we face another sneak attack," Takuya explained, "We don't want to get caught off guard again." The others nodded seriously before going off in two separate directions. The twins, Lexi, Kyōsuke, and Junpei went off one way; Rosa and Diego hesitated before following their son as he hurried off with Takuya and the others.

* * *

><p>They found themselves on a calm shoreline, where the waves lapped gently on the sand in a steady rhythm. Nymphmon walked in the shallow waters, her new affinity for the element really showing. The other four stayed up on dry land, and cracked grins at her behaviour. But they were a bit confused, as Kōichi's D-Scanner had picked up what could be his Spirit, but it was leading them in circles. And Junpei's was sounding an alarm now, though at least it was consistent. It pointed straight towards the Wind Factory where it had been located last time. But the Spirit of Darkness seemed closer, so for now they were trying to find it.<p>

Suddenly, several high-pitched cries reached their ears. They followed the sound through the nearby forest, and found a small group of Digimon. The biggest one, a knee-high, four-legged, orange and yellow, fuzzy, fierce-looking creature, had all the others backed up against a large log. "Hey!" Kōichi shouted.

Nymphmon reacted first, ran forward and stood between them. "Leave them alone!" she ordered. The aggressor merely snarled and charged, but she scooped it up and tossed it as far as she could. The nasty Digimon tried again, and this time it sank its pointy teeth into her arm as she grabbed it. "Agh!"

"Lexi!" Wolfmon yelled. Startled, Nymphmon dropped it and instinctively kicked it as hard as she could. Finally, the creature gave up and hurried away. Nymphmon de-transformed back into Lexi, clutching her bloody arm.

"Thank you!" One of the tiny Digimon had attached itself to her calf and was staring up and Lexi adoringly. They were all the same type, and looked like large green and white hamsters with small plants growing out of their backs. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! That Gizamon would've had us if you hadn't come along."

Lexi smiled and knelt down, as Wolfmon turned back to Kōji and helped steady her. Gnomemon also became human again. "Oh, it was nothing. I couldn't just stand there and watch, could I?"

"Well, thank you again anyway. We're Tanemon. Who are you?"

"I'm Lexi. This is Kōji, Kōichi, Junpei, and Kyōsuke."

"Are you humans? We've never seen one, but we've heard all about them."

"Yes, we are." She couldn't help but think they were cute.

"Are there any more of those Gizamon wandering around?" Junpei asked, "You little guys shouldn't be off on your own with those things out there."

"Our village is really close by, so we thought we'd be fine. Hey, do you want to come back with us? We can do something about your arm."

"That would be a good idea," Kōji replied, "I'll stick with her; you guys can keep on searching."

"Are you sure?" his twin asked.

"Yeah, we'll be fine."

* * *

><p>The Tanemon's village was an adorable sight. Little houses made of leaves, branches, and vines were situated all over the place, and bunches of exotic-looking flowers grew everywhere. Several other Tanemon were running around, but there was also another type of Digimon living there, too. These ones were knee-high plant creatures with huge pink lilies growing out of the tops of their heads. "This is our sister Palmon," a Tanemon introduced Kōji and Lexi to one, "Palmon, these are our new friends Lexi and Kōji. They saved us from a Gizamon!"<p>

Palmon smiled up at the pair. "Really? I'm impressed. Those Gizamon are always attacking us and going after our little ones lately. It's about time one of them was put in his place. You didn't get hurt, did you? They can be very vicious."

"Well, it bit my arm," Lexi stated, showing Palmon her now bleeding wound, "It hasn't got any possible diseases, does it?"

"Not that I know of. How about we take care of that? I've got just the thing." She ducked into the nearest hut and came back out with a bunch of big, fat leaves. "These have special healing properties," she explained, beginning to wrap them around Lexi's arms. Lexi felt a slight stinging sensation.

"Are you sure they work on humans, though?" Kōji questioned.

"Positive. Here, why don't you sit down?"

Lexi sat herself down on the soft grass while Palmon continued her work, and Kōji joined her. "So... do you have any idea why the Gizamon have been attacking?"

Palmon hesitated. "Well… a while ago, something strange appeared. It was small, smaller than the Tanemon, and it was glowing. Then a huge tree came out of the ground and covered it up."

Kōji and Lexi looked at each other. Could it be a Spirit?

"But that isn't the strangest thing. The next day, the tree was gone, like it had never appeared. Instead, there was a huge patch of these flowers. And they've been growing everywhere! If we hadn't seen the tree ourselves, we wouldn't know which patch it had been on!" She pointed over to a large patch of red flowers and purple ferns. The odd thing about it was that it was almost perfectly circular, and a few more identical ones were also in view.

Lexi opened her mouth to comment but before she could say anything, a sudden loud rustling in the bushes got everyone's attention. "It's the Gizamon!" a Tanemon cried, "They're back!" All the Digimon panicked and scattered. Some ran into their huts, others headed for the edge of the village. One Tanemon jumped into Lexi's arms, terrified. Growling, a Gizamon crept out of the brush, followed by another, and then another, until they were surrounding the entire village, trapping those attempting to flee. Lexi clutched the Tanemon protectively to her chest. There were so many of them. One lashed out at a Palmon, knocking her down with a vicious swipe of its claws.

"Hey!" Kōji shouted, running to the rescue with his D-Scanner in hand. "EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Now all the Gizamon were staring at him in surprise. They'd clearly been expecting an easy target, not a full-fledged Legendary Warrior.

Lexi pulled her D-Scanner out as well, surprised when she realised that her arm wasn't hurting so much anymore. Her leaf bandage fell away to reveal an almost perfectly-healed arm, just faint pink scars that were really only visible because she already knew they were there. _"Wow,"_ she thought, _"These weird leaves really do have special healing properties."_ She carefully set the Tanemon in her arms down (with difficulty, as the little Digimon was clinging to her tightly) Spirit Evolved as well.

"AQUA BLAST!" Half the Gizamon were blasted back by the powerful jets of water she'd summoned from the ground. It took all her concentration to avoid hitting all the other Digimon.

The Gizamon continued to press forward – there were too many of them for her to handle. Thankfully, she wasn't alone. Wolfmon pulled out his Licht Sieger and used that to keep them at bay. "Call the others!" he insisted. For every one they struck down, three more seemed to crawl out of the thick brush surrounding the village. They were being beaten by pure numbers and the fact that there were innocents trapped among the enemy.

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><p><strong>So you can clearly see how this has changed from the original. And I'll see you guys in two weeks for the third chapter!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Vinemon of Wood

**I'm sorry to say that Part IV will not be coming out as soon as I'd hoped. Life and other little ficlets have been getting in the way, unfortunately. But I will get it out, and I will see to the end of this series. Though I've cut much of the 'next-gen' sequel, so it will probably be a rather long oneshot rather than a multi-chap.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon Frontier or any of its characters.**

**WORD COUNT: 2916**

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><p><span>Chapter 3: Vinemon of Wood<span>

"So, this is the Wind Factory?" Kyōsuke asked, looking at the peeling sign and dilapidated building in front of them, "It looks like it could use a paint job or two... or twelve."

"It was a whole lot nicer last time I was here," Junpei explained, "even with all the Goblimon."

The three of them headed into the ruins. They'd finally found Kōichi's Spirit in a cave, and were now heading to pick up Junpei's. "So, what's the story on this place?"

"It was, like, Day Two or Three here for us, and we were practically starving. So we stopped by and wound up getting a whole guided tour. We were about to leave once we found out all they served at the cafeteria was alkaline pie and batteries, but then-"

"Batteries?" Both Kōichi and Kyōsuke gave Junpei a strange look, even though Kōichi had heard the story before. "Who eats _batteries_?"

"The Kokuwamon that worked there. They're machine-type Digimon, so that was what they ate. Well, technically, it was the energy that came _from_ the batteries, they never really ate the actual things. Anyway, we were on our way out, but we learned that the Kokuwamon were actually prisoners in there, and we led them in a riot that almost destroyed the place. We almost lost..." They'd finally made it to the center, and Junpei started pulling at a large pile of scrap metal. "...until... this... thing... got busted... ugh! …busted open, and..." He stopped, unable to budge the heavy pieces.

Kyōsuke stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Stand aside," he announced, Spirit Evolving. Kōichi rolled his eyes, even though he wanted to do the same now that they'd _finally_ located his Spirit. Gnomemon easily ripped the metal off like it was cheap plastic wrap, exposing the Spirit beneath.

"And then I found this little baby," Junpei concluded, pointing his D-Scanner at it and absorbing it. "My little Spirit of Thunder. I kicked Snimon's ass!"

"_Junpei?"_ The voice came from Junpei's D-Scanner. _"Junpei, Kōichi, Kyōsuke, are you guys there? It's Lexi."_

Junpei pushed a button. "Yeah, I hear you. What's going on?"

"_We're at the Tanemon village, and it's under attack! They aren't too strong, but we're seriously outnumbered, and I think they might be after a Spirit! We need backup!"_

"Okay, we're all on our way." He looked over at Kōichi and Gnomemon. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Fairymon weaved between various tree branches, looking for Tomoki. Their group had split up, staying in touch via their D-Scanners. Then Tomoki had called, saying he and the Digimon had found something suspicious.<p>

"Tomoki!" she called when she spotted him. The younger teen glanced up in surprise as she landed next to him. He was kneeling down, examining something on the ground.

"Take a look at this," he replied seriously, pointing at the ground. It was a claw, lying by a footprint, obviously from a big Digimon. "Whatever left this behind did a lot of damage to a little village I came across. It was completely abandoned, but Bokomon's certain the attack was recent – not even a week ago."

"Where's Bokomon now?"

"He and the other Digimon stayed behind to look for... survivors."

Fairymon bit her lip. "You don't think any innocent Digimon were killed, do you?"

"I don't know for sure, but with the way that village was demolished, it's possible. Whatever happened, it means there's an extremely powerful and dangerous Digimon in the loose."

Just then, their D-Scanners beeped, bringing Lexi's desperate message for help.

* * *

><p>The taste of her blood still lingered in his mouth, and he wanted more. Nymphmon didn't look like the human girl, but her scent was exactly the same. He had to have it.<p>

The other one, Wolfmon, was one of his obstacles, and if the Warrior of Light wasn't in the way, then his fellow Gizamon were, or an insignificant Palmon.

The humans who accompanied the newly-arrived Agnimon made no difference; they were trying to help the Tanemon escape. Gizamon was okay with that; the less distractions, the better. Scaring little Digimon was just a small bonus. What he was really interested in was the reward he would get from Master once his task was complete. That, and the human girl. Her blood was probably sweeter when she was in this form, stronger.

_"Gizamon..."_ The voice of his Master interrupted his musings. He threw a quick glance at each of his enemies to be sure they weren't looking, then ducked behind a tree. A small, dark portal appeared in the side of the trunk, and a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen in the centre.

Gizamon bowed low once he recognized them. "Master," he growled, "To what do I owe such an honour, Your Greatness?"

_"Enough pleasantries, Gizamon. Have you obtained the Spirit yet, or have you not?"_

"Soon, Master, very soon. We ran into a little problem, but it ain't nothing serious."

_"__**What**__ problem?"_ "The Legendary Warriors, Master. Five of 'em showed up, but only three of 'em got Spirits."

_"And the others..."_ An image of a human boy with dark hair appeared within the vortex. _"Is this one of them?"_ Gizamon peeked back around the tree. He was mildly shocked to see so many of his underlings down for the count. It seemed Agunimon, Wolfmon, and Nymphmon were more powerful than he'd thought, even though the former was supposed to be only a beginner.

Then he noticed the other humans off to the side. One of them, the one practically being strangled in an embrace from the adult female, looked exactly like the boy in the vortex. Gizamon turn to face Master again, trying to hide his sudden fear of the thought of losing. "Yeah, he's here, Master. What's so special about him?"

_"Keep him from attaining the Spirit. He is the one human that can unlock its powers."_

"Of course, Master. He won't get near it. GIZAMON DIGIVOLE TO... HANUMON!"

* * *

><p>Almost all the Tanemon were safely out of the way. Juan and Shinya had directed them all up into the trees. Luckily, none of the Gizamon seemed to be very good climbers. <em>Papá<em> helped a little, too, even grabbing a Tanemon up mere seconds before a Gizamon pounced. _Mamà_, on the other hand, was more focused on Juan. Every time something so much as _moved_ near him, she would pull him closer to her protectively. After a couple minutes, he was positive a bruise would form on his arm where she kept tugging at it. Agunimon, Wolfmon, and Mizumon were handling the Gizamon rather well, but were having trouble with numbers and keeping the village in one piece. The Palmon helped out as well, using their 'Poison Ivy' attack to keep the enemy at bay.

Shinya jumped down from the nearest tree, landing next to the Cortez family. "I think that's all of them," he stated breathlessly, "Where's the rest of the team? Lexi called ages ago!"

As if it was some sort of cue, Fairymon, and Chackmon burst into the clearing, followed by Gnomemon and two large Digimon Juan recognized from the illusions on the Trailmon as Junpei and Kōichi. Several Gizamon turned and fled at the sight of them, but stopped when a huge ape-like Digimon appeared out of nowhere. "Stay and fight!" he commanded them, "Find the hidden Spirit!"

Juan gasped. "So _that's_ what they're after!" Shinya said out loud, "It has to be either yours or mine. There's nobody else left!"

The Gizamon continued to press on. They ripped a few large patches of exotic-looking flowers, as if they were searching for something. The bigger Digimon kept the Warriors' hands full. They were holding back in their attacks; the close space increased the risk of hitting a friend.

"Hanumon!" one of the Gizamon cried from the flower patch closer to the village, digging at the ground, "It's here! The Spirit is underground!" Hanumon grinned and loped over. The Warriors tried to follow him, but more Gizamon blocked their way. There seemed to be no end to them; despite all their power, the Legendary Warriors were being just barely overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The flowers in that patch began to glow, while all the others vanished. The ground rumbled, nearly knocking many people off their feet, and a gigantic tree grew from the middle of the flowers at a rapid pace. A light shone from a knothole in the trunk.

Shinya suddenly made a break for it, his D-Scanner in hand. Juan knew what would happen next. The D-Scanner would absorb the Spirit, and Shinya would become a Digimon.

But when Shinya got there, nothing happened. "Juan!" he called back, "It's not doing anything! It's gotta be yours!"

Juan started to run forward, reaching for his D-Scanner in his pocket. He'd only taken about three steps when his _mamà_ took his arm again. "What are you doing?" she asked frantically, "Let those other children handle this!"

Juan gritted his teeth. "Let me go!" he insisted, "Please, I'm the only one who can use that Spirit! It'll be a disaster if I don't get it in time!"

"No! I'm _not_ losing you!" She pulled him in and held him to her so tightly that he had some difficulty breathing. "This isn't something you're capable of handling! We have to leave!"

"But the village... all the Digimon who live here! They need more help, and if that big guy gets the Spirit, he'll destroy everything!"

"This isn't even our world! It has nothing to do with us!"

"JUAN!" He twisted around in his _mamà_'s grip to see Shinya struggling with a Gizamon, trying to keep it off the Spirit. "Hurry up and claim it, already! I can't keep this up forever!"

Juan ground his teeth together again. "I'm sorry, _Mamà_," he stated, "But you're wrong. It has _everything_ to do with me! And I _can_ do this!" He broke free, already feeling the tingling sensation in his hand. From the others' descriptions, he knew it was his Digi-Code emerging. He held up the small brown and green D-Scanner, and the Spirit zoomed right into it. "EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

The feeling was amazing, overpowering. It was _way_ better than what he'd imagined. He felt his limbs changing, his entire body morphing into something else. "VINEMON!" He landed in a sort of crouching position, one leg bent beneath him with the other extended out to the side, and his left hand on the ground. Glancing down, he saw that it was made of a green, plant-like material. Undoubtedly, he'd become the creature he'd seen in his reflection in the Trailmon's windows a few days ago.

A guttural growl came from above him. Vinemon looked up to see Hanumon less than a foot in front of him, glaring down with a mad gleam in his beady black eyes. "That's _mine_!" the big ape roared, taking a swipe. Vinemon jumped to avoid the blow, back-flipping out of the Digimon's reach. "It's mine to give to Master, nobody else's!"

"Master?" Gnomemon asked. The others were apparently listening in as well. "Who's that?"

Hanumon ignored the question, instead taking another swing. Dodging again, Vinemon punched the ground with his right fist. "CREEPING ENSNAREMENT!" He could feel his 'fingers' elongate and push their way through the soil, quickly re-emerging directly underneath Hanumon as thick, snaking vines. He used those to lift the big monkey and toss him into a thick tree trunk.

Half the Gizamon squealed – yes, squealed – and took off in all directions. The good guys now had the advantage in numbers. "Nymphmon, Gnomemon!" Agunimon called, "Take care of the rest of 'em! We've got the big guy!" He, Wolfmon, Chackmon, Fairymon, and Junpei and Kōichi – what were their Spirit names again? – surrounded Hanumon on all sides, effectively blocking any route of escape. Not that the big guy cared. His beady, evil eyes were set on Vinemon only. He lunged again, but Vinemon fired a vine out of his left hand and caught a tree branch, using it to swing over the enemy's head.

"POD BLASTER!" he shouted, firing several glowing green energy pods from his other hand. Hanumon roared in pain as he was hit. By then, Gnomemon and Nymphmon had finished scaring off the Gizamon, with help from the Palmon. Hanumon was all alone now, but he still wasn't giving up.

"MEGA BONE STICK!" The big monkey suddenly had a large bone in his meaty paws, and was swinging it around. The Legendary Warriors ducked and jumped back, and when Hanumon had his attention on Junpei, Kōichi struck him with his 'EWIG SCHLAF'. Tsurumon then used another 'CREEPING ENSNAREMENT', only this time with both hands. Again, his vines came up underneath Hanumon, this time holding him in place.

"Okay, Blitzmon!" Agunimon shouted, "NOW!"

Junpei – Blitzmon – probably would've grinned if he'd had a visible mouth. "My pleasure," he stated, "LIGHTNING TOPPER!" A ball of lightning formed near the tip of the horn on his head and then fired out and hit Hanumon. Vinemon grit his teeth – cool, he was a plant creature and still had teeth – as the electricity travelled through his vines, which were technically his really long fingers, and into the ground. It stung a little, and he vaguely wondered if that was what it felt like sticking his finger into an electrical socket.

"Ow!" he yelped, dropping Hanumon and pulling his slightly smoking hands out. "Next time, make sure I'm not the only thing connecting your target to the ground!"

"Whoops. Sorry 'bout that, little man."

Hanumon slowly got up, snarling and looking madder than ever. "METALLIC FUR!" His fur turned to shiny metal – really, what did you _think_ would happen? – and he dove for Nymphmon, tackling her.

"Hey!" she yelled, "Someone get this monkey off me!" With that, she slammed her fist into Hanumon's face. The huge Digimon grunted in pain, but wouldn't move.

"Lowemon!" Agunimon ordered.

"ENDLICH METEOR!" A sphere of black and yellow energy gathered at the open mouth of the lion carved into Kōichi's – Lowemon's – breastplate, and blasted Hanumon, knocking him off Nymphmon and into the tree again. The 'METALLIC FUR' effect vanished, and he started to get up again, but they all knocked him down, combining 'BURNING SALAMANDER', 'BREZZA PETALLO', 'SNOW BOMBER', 'THOR HAMMER', 'ROCK SLAM', 'AQUA BLAST', and 'POD BLASTER', followed by the twins' 'LICTH SIEGER' and 'EWIG SCHLAF'.

This time, Hanumon _stayed_ down. His body blackened and the ring of Digi-Code appeared. "You want to do the honours, Vinemon?" Fairymon asked.

Vinemon nodded and pulled his D-Scanner out of thin air. "Digi-Code, Scan!" he shouted. Hanumon dissolved, leaving a beaten Gizamon lying next to the tree. The Legendary Warriors turned back to their human forms and gathered around, all glaring down at him.

"So what do we do with this one?" Lexi asked, "Should we just let him go?"

"I say we leave him," Kyōsuke stated,"He can't do a whole lot of damage on his own."

"Tell that to the village a few miles from here!" Tomoki argued, "I noticed his claws, they're identical to the ones left behind when a Digimon trashed the place!"

"Hang on a second, didn't he mention something about a 'Master'?" Izumi mused, rubbing her chin, "That could be the evil Digimon we're supposed to find and defeat."

"Yeah," Junpei agreed, "We should try and get some answers outta this guy."

"You kids can do that," _Mamà_ interrupted, grabbing Juan and tugging his D-Scanner out of his hand, "But we're going to go back home and forget this ever happened."

"What?" Juan cried, reaching for his D-Scanner, "But _Mamà_, I can't just walk away from my destiny!"

"This isn't your 'destiny', it's someone else's." She shoved the D-Scanner into Tomoki's stunned hands. "This cause has nothing to do with us, and it's just too dangerous for you to get involved!"

"Too dangerous? I just proved that I can look after myself, and I've got everyone else watching my back, too! Come on, _Mamà_, I'm not a little kid anymore! _I_ was chosen to be one of the new Legendary Warriors, and it's_ my _responsibility!"

"That's enough! We'll continue this discussion later." With that note of finality, she began pulling Juan away from his team, into the woods in the direction they'd come from. _Papá_ hung back for some reason.

Juan sighed. There was just no talking to _Mamà_. He could protest for a week straight, and it still wouldn't change her mind. This wasn't fair. No, it was worse than just 'not fair'; it was a serious problem for the Digital World. How could he help the others when _Mamà_ wasn't going to let him out of her sight? Okay, so she'd never said that, but Juan knew her well enough. How was he going to get out of this one?


	4. Chapter 4: Secrets Still Unearthed

**Hi, yes I know this is late! This is what happens when you leave a paper to the last minute (stupid summer classes), but now that's all taken care of.**

**I'm sorry to say that Part IV is once again on hold. Re-posting these revised versions was supposed to buy me time, but I barely got two pages further. Once I have all my currently-posted fics up on Archive of Our Own and have replaced the ones with the edited and revised ones (I went over each fic before posting on my new account), this will be my next project, alongside 'Queen' Chapter 2. 'Uragirimono is _almost_ finished, so close that I can almost taste it, and 'Recruitment' is close as well. However, as my new classes start on September 2nd, that will be my #1 priority.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon Frontier**

**WORD COUNT: 1,488**

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><p><span>Chapter 4: Secrets Still Unearthed<span>

Takuya watched as Juan was dragged away from them by his crazy mother. Seriously, that lady was the poster woman for the insanely overprotective. Detective Cortez hung back, instead of following his wife and son. He looked pretty uncomfortable with the whole situation. Takuya found this guy to be kinda cool for a dad who'd recently discovered that his son was destined to save the universe. He'd helped get the Tanemon to safety, and at least he didn't seem to have a problem with Juan being a part of the team. If only they could say the same for his wife.

"I'm sorry about Rosa," the man told them quietly. He took Juan's D-Scanner back from Tomoki. "I'll try to reason with her. Good luck." And with that, he left.

"You too!" Tomoki called back.

There was an awkward silence after that as they stared after him. Then Takuya, never one for awkward silences, turned back to the defeated Gizamon. "Alright, we'd better get this guy restrained before he wakes up," he declared, "The more we know about this 'Master' guy, the better, and we can't have our only info source running off now, can we?"

The others nodded seriously. "I'll take care of it," one Palmon volunteered, "POISON IVY!"

Gizamon awoke only a minute after being tied up. "Hey!" he snapped, "Lemme go!"

"Answer a few questions, and we'll consider it," Kyōsuke replied coolly.

"You mentioned you had a master who wanted the Spirit," Shinya stated, "Who is it?"

Gizamon growled at them. "I ain't sayin' nothin'"

"Fine," Takuya countered, "I don't know about you guys, but I've got all day. I can wait."

"Me, too," Junpei added, sitting down and reclining against a nearby rock, "But I don't think the Palmon are all that happy with you. And we're not gonna stop 'em if they decide they wanna get you back."

"Actually," a second Palmon piped up, "We Palmon aren't a violent race. We don't attack unless there's a direct threat to our home, friends, or family."

Junpei sweatdropped. "Okay, forget I said anything. Just start talking already."

"No."

Takuya was getting bored with this already. Maybe Det. Cortez should've stuck around. He probably had interrogation training. Takuya stretched his arms and took a moment to look at the destruction around them. "Well, while we're waiting," he suggested, "We might as well start fixing things up around here. This place is actually messier than my room."

"And here I thought that was impossible," Shinya commented.

Indeed, there was a lot of work needed to rebuild the village. Some of the inhabitants were already sifting through the debris, trying to figure out what could or could not be salvaged.

Just then, the bushes nearby started rustling. Takuya and the others tensed up, ready to Spirit Evolve if necessary. Suddenly, Neemon fell out with a loud "Owchie!" followed by Salamon, Lopmon, and Bokomon. Patamon glided into the clearing after them, breathless.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Bokomon cried, "I was afraid we'd missed..." He looked around at the action-free scene before him. "...everything."

Patamon touched down rather ungracefully on the only hut left intact. "What happened?" he asked, gasping for breath, "We heard all the noise, and came here as fast as we could."

"Long story short, some Gizamon were attacking, we showed up, Juan Spirit Evolved, and we kicked their butts," Junpei said bluntly, "Then the kid and his parents went homet. Oh, and we've captured the head Gizamon 'cuz we think he's working for the 'great evil' we'll obviously have to face at some point."

Bokomon did _not_ look happy. "You mean... a new Spirit was found, and I _MISSED_ IT?!" He began sputtering incomprehensible noises.

"Hey!" Kōji shouted all of a sudden, "He's getting away!"

Takuya turned to see Gizamon, having torn through his restraints while they weren't paying attention, dashing towards the forest. Shinya launched himself at the Digimon, but missed and only got a face full of grass. Kyōsuke took off after him, quickly vanishing into the woods. Were they _ever_ going to get a break today? "Come on!" Takuya urged everyone else, "We've gotta catch him! Izumi, Junpei, get in the air, the rest of us will follow on foot!"

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><p>Kyōsuke sighed heavily as he entered his family's apartment. Gizamon had gotten away from them, circling around back to the shoreline and escaping via the water. Nymphmon, Blitzmon, and Fairymon had followed, but eventually lost sight of him.<p>

"Welcome home," his sister Juri greeted him tiredly, giving Yōko a bottle in the kitchen. She had bags under her eyes that spoke of sleepless nights. "How was your day?"

"Frustrating," he admitted, "But productive." He knew she was too tired and preoccupied to pay much attention to what he was saying anyway. Nee-san just kept feeding her daughter, right before she would put the baby to bed.

It was for Nee-san's sake that he kept his adventures in the Digital World a secret. She was only ten months older than him, and a teen mom to boot. She had not only Yōko to worry about, but the stress of catching up with her studies so that she could graduate high school in June with him and the rest of her friends (she'd born just after the cut-off date and was thus in the same year as Kyōsuke). She didn't need to worry about him going off and risking his life in another dimension. Some secrets were best kept just that: secret.

* * *

><p>Juan stared moodily at his bedroom ceiling. He supposed this was his own fault, bringing <em>Mamà<em> along. _Papá_ seemed pretty cool about the Digital World, but _Mamà_ was a completely different story.

A soft knock at the door. "Come in," he mumbled. He knew it wasn't _Mamà_, otherwise he would've shouted: 'Go away!' instead.

It was _Papá_. Juan sat up. To be honest, he still wasn't _completely_ sure about _Papá_'s opinion on today's developments. He _seemed_ okay with it, but he hadn't said anything about it on the Trailmon, since _Mamà_ had utterly refused to discuss that topic. Juan had no idea whose side Padre was really on.

_Padre_ sat down on the edge of the bed."I told your _madre_ I'd try and talk some sense into you," he said.

Juan scowled and flopped back down. So _Papá_ was on _Mamà_'s side. Figures.

"She thinks it's far too dangerous for a child to get involved with, and that it would be better if we just went on like it never happened. But I don't agree with her." Huh? He didn't? "You handled yourself amazingly well back there against that... what was that Digimon called again?"

"Hanumon."

"And you aren't a child anymore. That's why I'm giving this back to you." Juan gasped when he realized _Papá_ was holding out his D-Scanner.

"Seriously?" Just in case _Papá_ was playing some kind of cruel trick, Juan took the precious device before it could be snatched away.

"_Si_. Just don't tell your _Mamà_, and watch yourself out there."

Juan grinned. "Thanks, _Papá_."

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><p>Gizamon trembled as he bowed low to the floor. Master was <em>not<em> pleased, not pleased at all. He found himself wishing he was back in the forest, still trying to ditch the Legendary Warriors. "I'm sorry, Master," he begged, "The Legendary Warriors are strong! I couldn't keep 'em _all_ off it, and those flunkies Lord Incumon gave me were no help."

A growl. "You puny, ungrateful little-" The shadowy figure on Master's left started forward, but was stopped by a simple hand gesture from their all-powerful leader, who could easily wipe them out if he felt like it.

"Control yourself, Aremon," Lady Succumon snapped from The Master's other side, "Master, perhaps a new strategy is in order."

Silence. Then Master spoke. _"Explain."_

"The Legendary Warriors _are_ strong. Nine of them have each obtained a Spirit, and it is only a matter of time before the Warrior of Steel, the young one they call 'Shinya', does the same. Until then, he is the weak link. My suggestion is that we remove him before he and the others grow any stronger. Eliminate one, and the rest will swiftly follow."

"Yeah, that's what Lucemon thought when he took out the Warrior of Darkness," Incumon interrupted, "And look at what happened to him! Not only was he destroyed, he didn't even manage to get rid of the brat properly!"

"True, but I suggest a different approach. I assure you, Master, the boy's death will drive the Legendary Warriors to destroy each other from the inside!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

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><p><strong>And that's all for now, I'm afraid. But here is a small rough-draft-version preview of Part IV:<strong>

**_"You could've killed him! If Junpei hadn't gotten to him in time, who knows what would've happened?! He can't even Spirit Evolve to get out of the way!:_**

**_At this, Shinya turned and started to walk away. "Hey, Shinya, where're you going?" Tomoki called after him._**

**_"Home," Shinya replied over his shoulder, " All I'm really doing is getting in the way, anyway."_**


End file.
